Sunday, December 13, 2009

Following yesterday's fantastic Walk Against Warming, I thought I'd write to the climate sceptics out there who oppose climate action even as the demands of science become increasingly urgent.

Dear climate sceptic,

Hope you're feeling better, though you might still be feeling a bit sad about the massive 40,000+ attendance at the Walk Against Warming in Melbourne on the weekend (and in many other places, we shouldn't forget).

The rally demanded strong action from Australia at the international climate talks now underway in Copenhagen. This includes effective binding targets by developed nations to achieve a safe climate below 350ppm - far beyond the paltry targets now on the table, which would lead us to 3.5 degrees of warming and climate catastrophe.

The climate science update in the Copenhagen Diagnosis might also not be quite the cup of tea you're looking for, but it's a necessary prescription for the planet, and I recommend you be brave and swallow your medicine.

Remember at this difficult time that you are not completely alone - the Rudd Government and the Coalition are far closer to the climate sceptics than they are to a safe climate policy. There were even a few lonely sceptical souls at the Walk Against Warming you would have met had you been there on Saturday.

Unfortunately for your team, they were as massively outnumbered by the crowds demanding climate action as Ian Plimer is dwarfed by the international scientific consensus that humans are causing the global warming we are now indisputably experiencing.

Finally, ABC Radio National reported this morning that 80 fires are burning across New South Wales. The CFA volunteers who spoke at the rally - veterans of Black Saturday - were clear about the relationship of climate change to increasingly frequent and severe bushfires in Australia. They are well backed, of course, by the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre and a host of eminent climate scientists.

That's the news. Chin up! A change of heart is possible, and you're welcome to join the growing call for urgent climate action. Hope - like our clean energy sources - is renewable!

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